Fired
by RemiScarlet58
Summary: Declan was fired from Team Flare. But they made a mistake: he knows where their base is located. So, he sics Officer Jenny on them. But it doesn't quite go as planned. This little short story came from me wondering how the main-game Teams kept their former employees' mouths quiet about top-secret info.I may do more of these with the other five Teams,depending on how well this goes.


Declan stood outside the Lumiose City police station. He still wasn't entirely sure whether or not what he was doing was a good idea, but he knew something had to be done. Yesterday he had been fired from Team Flare due to negligence. He and a squad of Flare members had been stationed in Glittering Cave. He had no idea what they were doing (the higher-ups never told grunts like him anything), but his job was to guard the entrance and make sure no one tried to enter. Unfortunately, guard duty was very boring, and the sun had been hitting him at just the right angle. It was understandable why he fell asleep on the job. Apparently a little girl and her pet Swirlix had snuck past him and into the Cave. Luckily she had been easily chased out, and the mission successful, but after being chewed out for an hour and a half by Lysandre, the latter had finally decided to terminate Dec's employment. But Team Flare had overlooked one thing: Dec knew where their Hideout was located. Last night after he was kicked out onto the streets of Lumiose, he had decided he would simply alert the police to the crime syndicate's location.

Declan took a deep breath and walked inside the station with purpose. If he was going to get fired after only being there for two months, Team Flare was going to pay. He strode up to the front desk and up to the secretary.

"Hi, can I help you?" She asked.

"U-Um…Yes. I uh…I have information…..I know where Team Flare's Hideout is!" Dec blurted out.

Immediately the secretary's face hardened.

"You have information where their base is located? And this info is true?" She demanded.

"Uh, yeah." He muttered.

"Come with me. Officer Jenny will want to speak with you."

Nervously, Dec followed the woman into a sparse office. The only furniture was a desk and two chairs. He sat down on a chair. Shortly, Jenny arrived.

"Hi, my name is Officer Jenny. And you are?" She asked him.

"My name? It's uh…Declan." He said.

"Well, Declan. You know where that evil Team Flare's base is?" She demanded.

"Yes. I do."

"This is the best thing I've heard in a long time. We've been wanting to catch them for months, but they kept slipping out of our grasp. Thank you for your help, Declan. If you could just tell us where Team Flare's base is located, we'll take it from here." Said Jenny.

"It's in Lysandre Café, behind the bookcase. Lysandre is the boss." Dec said confidently.

Jenny stared at him, an odd expression on her face.

"You're joking." She said flatly. It wasn't a question.

"Lysandre is the creator of the Holo Caster; there is zero chance of a man like him being allied with a bunch of criminals like Team Flare!" She yelled. Dec shrank in his chair.

"No, no! I can prove it! There's a secret switch on the bookcase; behind it is Team Flare's base! I'm not lying!" He protested.

After a long pause, Jenny sighed.

"Alright, I'll play this stupid game of yours. C'mon, let's go." She said, walking out of the door.

"Wait, where are we going?" Asked Dec.

"Lysandre Café, of course."

_Twenty minutes later…._

*Ding!* Went the doorbell as Jenny and Declan entered the Café. As luck would have it, Lysandre himself was inside, drinking tea at one of the booths. He looked up in surprise.

"Officer Jenny! And…Declan? What are you two doing here?" He asked, confused.

"Is there a secret room behind your bookcase? Declan here says that there is, and that it's the base for Team Flare's operations." Said Officer Jenny.

"There is indeed a secret place in the back, but it is merely Lysandre Labs, the factory for the Holo Caster and the center of operations for the company. It is by no means associated with that heinous syndicate." Said Lysandre eloquently.

"Would you like to take a tour?" He said, surprising Dec.

"Yes, actually. I've always wondered what Lysandre Labs looked like." Said Jenny.

"Then please, follow me, and let your eyes witness the truth for yourself." Said the orange-haired man, pulling a book from the bookshelf. Suddenly, it moved to the side, revealing a dark corridor.

The three walked inside. They came to the main room, which was full of warp panels.

"We have these installed as a security measure. As my company and research is a high-valued target, I cannot take any chances when it comes to thieves. As such, these warp panels confuse potential burglars, allowing us to safely keep them confined until we can evict them. As you can see, there is an elevator in front of us, but I assume you'll want to explore the entire first floor first." Said Lysandre.

"Yes, please." Said Jenny.

"There isn't anything worthwhile on this floor; it's just the factory, offices, and labs." Protested Dec.

"How do you know all that?" Asked Jenny.

"Declan here was an employee up until yesterday. Due to regrettable circumstances, I had to let him go. He's always been a bit of a handful. Claims to see criminals everywhere. Indeed, the poor man suffers from dreadful delusions. They were affecting his work here, so I had to fire him." Explained Lysandre as he took the two through the first floor.

"Hey! That's not true! This really is Team Flare's base! There are prison cells on the second floor!" Protested Dec as they came to the elevator again.

"_Prison cells_?" Asked Jenny, horrified.

"Merely our storage units. As I said, Dec suffers from frightening hallucinations. Allow me to show you myself, dear Officer." Lysandre smiled as he inserted the elevator key. The three walked into the bottom second floor a minute later.

"It sure is dark in here." Commented Jenny.

"We are below ground here, so no natural light gets in, I'm afraid. Ah, here we are. Our 'prison cells', as Dec so lovingly calls them." Gestured Lysandre.

Every ten or so feet was a small indenture in the wall, barred by electric lasers. And inside each room were….

"Boxes." Dec whispered in horror. He knew that they weren't here yesterday.

"We keep our supplies in here." Lysandre said conversationally.

"What about the electric bars, huh? How do you explain that?" Demanded Dec. No way was the man who fired him going to get away this easily.

"Lumiose City is unfortunately in an earthquake-prone area. As the ground shifts, these boxes would go flying everywhere unless kept confined. Metal bars weaken over time and they are unreliable during a particularly strong earthquake, so we use these lasers for maximum efficiency." Returned Lysandre without batting an eye. Dec's jaw dropped open. This was not going the way he expected.

"It certainly makes sense." Jenny was saying.

"No! No! Uh…Oh! On the third floor! That's where they listen to people's conversations over the Holo Caster! They tap 'em!" He shouted desperately.

"That's true." Agreed Lysandre.

"Hah! He admits it!" Gloated Dec.

"It's for quality control." The former went on.

"Yeah—wait. What?" Asked Declan.

"We sometimes listen in on conversations in order to make sure that the Holo Caster as a whole is functioning perfectly, as well as for research on how we can continue improving the product. It is clearly stated in our terms and conditions, which is given to every customer upon their purchase of a Holo Caster." Explained Lysandre.

"Why don't we go downstairs and see for ourselves?" Demanded Dec.

"I think not." Said Jenny.

"Huh?"

"I've seen and heard enough. I've no reason to believe that Lysandre is the boss of Team Flare, nor that this is the base of a criminal organization. If you will be excusing me, I will be heading back to the station. Mr. Declan, please do not approach me with this delusion again." Warned Jenny.

"It is my recommendation that Declan receive help for his condition. I fear that his delusions will continue impacting his future work performance." Lysandre said, concern in his voice. Dec knew it to be false.

"I have to agree. Declan, please come with me, and we will find you the treatment you need." Said Officer Jenny.

"Before he goes, may I keep him for a few minutes? I was unable to give him his severance pay yesterday, as he stormed out of here when I told him that he was fired." Asked Lysandre.

"Of course. Dec, I will see you at the station shortly." Jenny said as she left.

When the elevator had departed, Lysandre turned back to Dec.

"You knew." Dec said, defeated.

"Honestly, it's a lot more common than you think. We have to have a way to deal with the vengeful former members. And making the plaintiff appear insane has been very effective, I've found. Some boxes in the cells, reasonable explanations for everything, suspicion cast on the former member….Yes, very effective, and very easy to set up. You were a fool to believe that you could take us on by yourself. Now go. Get out of here, and go get the treatment you deserve! You truly are insane, to think that an idiot like you could defeat me!"


End file.
